So it’s that time yet again – time to recycle some old monster flick names and try to make some more monies. This time around The Mummy is the targeted victim of the Hollywood reboot machine. Okay, wait… which one are they remaking? The classic mummy horror film or the Brendan Fraser action flick that spawned a buttload of horrible sequels and spin-offs? Well, it looks like they’re going for something different this time – a modern take on the classic character.

The team of Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Jon Spaihts is going to produce and they just signed on Len Wiseman to direct. In a recent interview with Deadline, both Kurtzman and Wiseman had a few things to say about the upcoming project.

When talking to Kurtzman:

We’re reaching into the deep roots of The Mummy, which at its beating heart is a horror movie and then an action movie, and putting it into a context that is real and emotional. It’s still a four quadrant film but as a lot of recent movies have proven, audiences are hungry for more than they used to be. You can still have a family movie, an action movie that’s more grounded than these used to be. Without saying too much, we’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from Michael Crichton’s books, and how he ground fantastical sales in modern day science.

Horror and action I can see. I mean, it is pretty much made for those genres. But family movie? Michael Crichton’s sales? Sigh…

Kurtzman went on to explain a little more:

A lot of the work with Len has been about creating mythology, and I remember seeing Underworld and finding it a beautiful advancement of the genre. It was presented in this fresh, incredibly cool concept, but it never gave up its reverence for the mythology and that is what inspired us to meet with Len.

And now he’s praising the Underworld franchise? Double sigh…

So what did Wiseman have to say?

One of the things that interested me with this mummy is, he’s still in essence a man. They haven’t turned his brain into a monster brain. He still has a personality and is very cunning and calculating. He’s a true character in any form, and in creature form, even if he is that staggering creature, it becomes more important that he’s a thinking, calculating person.

Now if only we could get someone with a brain to be thinking and calculating about a script. Personally, I expect this to be another money-hound, chasing movie-goers’ wallets via an easily-digestible script and mediocre yet familiar casting.

Any dissenters among the Nerdreader ranks? Think this crew can pull off something more than another FX-driven attempt at mediocrity?

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